Justifying spacer or space band



J. H. BECK.

LUSTIFYING SPACER OR SPAGEBAND APPLICATION FILED MAR, 28. 1921.

1,424,870 tent d Aug. 8, 1922.

JAMES H. BECK, 0E BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOE TO MERGENTHALER LING- TYPE COMPANY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 19221.

Application filed March 28, 1921. Serial No. 456,380.

To aZZ w ham it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES H. BECK, a citizen of the United States residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Justifying Spacers or Space Bands, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying, drawing.

This invention relates'to justifying spacers or spacebands, such as are use in commercial linotype machines for the justificatlon of composed matrixlinespreparatory to the slug casting operation. As heretofore constructed, these spacebands frequently become bent or broken, due to the very rough usage to which they are subjected in practice, and moreover, their manufacture is slow, tedious and expensive.

The present invention, generally speaking, is directed to an improved form of space.- band which not only possesses greater strength and durability than the old form above referred to, but which in addition can be manufactured with greater ease and facility and at less expense. The manner in which these results are obtained will be best understood from the detailed description to follow.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a composed line of matrices in justified condition and ready for casting;

Figs. 2 and 3 are side or face views of the improved spaceband, taken from the left and right, respectively;

Fig. 4 is a side view, taken from the right, of the old form of spaceband;

Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse sections taken on the lines 5-5 and 6-6 respectively of Fi 3; and

Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken on. the line 7-7 of Fig. 4:.

As shown in F ig. 1, the improved spaceband comprises two oppositely tapered or wedge-shaped members A and B, whose outer faces are vertical and whose inner engaging faces are inclined atthe same angle so that the outer faces will remain parallel-at all times. The shorter member A is the stationary part, being provided at its upper end with supporting ears A} which hold 1t against movement during ustificatlon, while the longer member B is the movable part, being slidably connected to the member A in such manner as to be thrust upwardly through the composed line in performing th justifying action. a

The foregoing description is equally applicable to the old form of spaceband illustrated in Figs. 4 and 7 and comprising the relatively stationary member X formed with the supporting ears X and the movable member Y. In this old. form, the sliding connection between the two members is made up ofthe longitudinal dovetail slot Y formed in the member Y and the corresponding tongue X formed on the member X. Due to the tapered form of the member Y, its marginal bars Y are quite thin (particularly at their upper ends) and hence become bent or broken in use. Moreover, because of buckling or warping or from other causes, these two marginal bars oftentimes get out of true and interefere with the free sliding movement between the two wedgeshaped members. Other objections and difficulties arise in manufacture: For instance, in hardening and tempering the member Y, the two marginal bars Y are drawn out of parallelism or otherwise distorted, necessitating the shavingdown of their beveled edges to bring them to proper working condition. Such shaving operations, being carried out in the hardened and tempered condition of the 'metal, are somewhat diflicult and frequently require considerable hand work. Moreover, the nature and extent of these shaving operations necessarily vary on different parts, so that it is seldom that any two come out exactly alike. the dovetail slot Y being wider on some of the members Y than on others. For this reason, it has been the custom to make the members X with tongues of slightly different widths so as thus to compensate for the varying widths of the dovetail slots in the members Y. But even under this practise, there still remains the slow and tiresome task of selecting two members which will properly match; and furthermore there will be many parts which require additional work before they can be fitted together in a satisfactory manner. A standardized or interchangeable product is altogether impossible. These and various other objections, both as to manufacture and use, are well known to those skilled in the art and therefore require no further mention.

To obviate the foregoing objections and to attain the objects before stated, the improved spaceband is, constructed as follows: The movable member is formed withtwo longitudinal slots B and presents two marginal bars 13 (like the corresponding bars Y of the old spaceband) and an intermedi ate centrally located bar B the latter being considerably wider than the other two and beveled on its opposite edges throughout its length or at any rate for a distance equal to the extent" of movement of the member 13. The relatively stationary member A is formed on its inner or inclined face with a pairof guides A arranged in the'longitudinal slots B and undercut or dovetailed on their inner edges to receive the bevelled edges of the bar B The sliding joint or connection thus formed serves to holdthe two wedge-shaped members in proper contacting relation, while permitting the member B to be moved relatively to the stationary member A in expanding and contracting the spaceband as a whole. Thus in Fig. 1, the 'spacebands' are shown in an expanded condition, the movable vmembers B having been pushed upwardly through the composed line of matrices Z to spread out the line to its proper lock-up length. It will be noted (Figs/3 and 5) that the guides A do not touch the marginal bars B -but are slidably connected solely with the eentralbar B In this connection, it is also pointed out that the length of the guides A although the same as that of the tongue X of the old; spaceband, is much gre ater than the width of theba-r B (the ratio being-more than two to one), thus providing-a smooth and easy running engagement between the parts. At their upper ends, the bars B and B merge into a thin connecting web B, the slots B being stoppedshort of the end of the member 13 for that purpose; and at their lower ends, the bars are connected together by a longer and much thicker web B which is left at that end ofth member'B. Between the two webs, the slots B extend clear through the member B so as to allow the latter to be tapered down to the extent indicated and at the same time permit the guides A to enter the slots. in

making sliding connection with the bar B without projecting beyond the outer or vertical face of'the member B. In assembling the two members A and B, the guides A? are slipped over the lower end of the bar B" (which, it will be remembered, is bevelled throughout its length), and a headed pin 13 is then secured to the web B at the the treme lower end of one of the slots B in position to engage the lower end of the member A and limit the upward movement of" the member BL .The downward morement of" the member B is limited .by the direct engagement of the web B with the upper ends of guides A such being the position of the parts during the circulation of the spaceband through the machine and before justification. In this 'way, als'0, the two members of the spaceband are permanently locked together.

The advantages of the improved spaceband will now be clear: Due to the presence of the additional intermediate bar B the movable slotted member B is much stronger and far more rigid than the corresponding member Y of the old spaceband, and hence its liability to bending or breakage in use is correspondingly reduced. Moreover, by connecting the guides A solely with the in-v termediate bar B a very effective sliding connection between the wed e-shaped members A and-B is produced. Thus, as the length of the guides A is much greater than the width of the bar B a relatively long and narrow bearing is provided between the parts which renders their running engagement extremely smooth and easy and free from binding. Furthermore, being formed wholly on the integral bar E the two beveled surfaces'preserve their true shape and parallelism at all times, as the bar will seldom if" ever become distorted under normal conditions. In this connection, it will be remembered that the guides A are arrangedout of contact with the two marginal bars B sov that any distortion or lack of parallelism of the latter cannot affect the sliding connection. I proved spaceband has been foundto possess remarkable strength and durability and to be exceptionally eliicient in operation,

Other important 1 advantages arise in manufacture: Inasmuch as the beveled sur-- faces are confined wholly to the intermediate bar B the member B- maybe hardened tempered without requiring any subsequent shaving or planing of the beveled surfaces. That is to say, these beveled surfaces, being present on a single integral part, may be formed thereon when the metal is in. a soft condition and still maintain their true shape and parallelism during the hardening. and tempering operations, thereby obviating one of the chief difficulties encountered.- in the manufacture; of the old spacebandi. result also, the beveled edge bars may all be of uniform 'w'idth to cooperate with guides A of one uniform width, In this.

way, thetwo wedge-shaped members A and B may be made in strictly standardized and interchangeable form and such that any two can be fitted directly together, thus saving an enormous amount of time and-laborheretofore required in assembling. the parts In. addition, many operations, previously nec; essary in. the case of the old spaceband, are

entirely eliminated in; the manufacture. of the improvedspaceband, thereby. reducing the cost of manufacture to a minimum.

In the accompanying drawing, the invens In actual practise, the ini-;

changes and variations may be made therein and in its mode of application which will .still be comprised within its spirit. For example, while the member B as herein illustrated presents but three longitudinalbars, it is apparent that it may be composed of greater number of desired. In this connection, however, it is pointed out that it is desirable in any case to retain the two marginal bars so as to insure the proper engagement of the spaceband with the mold during casting.- bodiment, the central bar B is much wider than the marginal bars B but it is obvious that it could be made narrower or even wider if preferred. It is'also pointed out that, in its broader aspects, the invention does not require that the two beveled surfaces be located wholly on the intermediate bar, although such arrangement is more advantageous for the reasons previously noted. It should be understood therefore that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim is as follows:

1. A justifying spaceband comprising a relatively stationary wedge-shaped member, and a movable cooperating wedge-shaped member slidably connected thereto, said movable member being slotted andpresenting two marginal bars extending in the direction of its movement and an intermediate bar extending in the same direction and servin to add strength and rigidity to the movab e slotted member during the justifying action.

2. A justifying spaceband comprising a relatively stationary wedge-shaped member, and a movable cooperating wedge-shaped member slidably connected thereto, said movable member bein slotted and presenting two marginal bars extending in the direction of its movement and a wider intermediate bar extending in the same direction and serving to add strength and rigidity to the movable slotted member during the j ustifying action.

3. A justifying spaceband comprising a relatively stationary wedge-shaped member, and a movable cooperating wedge-shaped member slidably connected thereto, said movable member being slotted and present ing two marginal bars extending in the direction of its movement and an intermediate centrally located bar extending in the same direction.

i. A justifying spaceband comprising a movable slotted wedgeshaped member presenting two marginal bars extending in the direction of its movement and an interme- Agam, 1n the present 6111- diate bar extending in the same direction,

and a relatively stationary cooperating wedge-shaped member having guides arranged in the slots of said movable member out of contact with its marginal bars and slidably connected solely with its intermediate bar.

5. A justifying spaceband comprising a movable slotted wedge-shaped member presenting two marginal bars extending in the direction of its movement and an intermediate bar extending in the same direction and beveled on its opposite edges, and a relatively stationary cooperating wedge-shaped member having guides arranged in the slots of said movable member out of contact with its marginal bars and undercut or dovetailed on their inner edges to make sliding connection solely with its intermediate bar.

6. A justifying spaceband comprising a movable slotted wedge-shaped member presenting two marginal bars extending in the direction of its movement and an intermediate centrally located bar extending in the same direct-ion, and a relatively stationary cooperating wedge-shaped member having guides arranged in the slots of said movable member out of contact with its marginal bar and slidably connected solely with its intermediate centrally located bar.

7. A justifying spaceband comprising a movable slotted wedge-shaped member presenting a plurality of bars extending in the direction of its movement, and a relatively stationary cooperatin wedge-shaped member formed with guides slidably connected to a single one of the longitudinal bars of said movable member.

8. A justifying spaceband comprising a movable slotted wedge-shaped member presenting a plurality of bars extending in the direction of its movement, one of said bars being beveled on its opposite edges, and a relatively stationary cooperating wedgeshaped member having guides undercut or dovetailed on their inner edges to make sliding connection with the beveled-edge bar of said movable member.

9. A justifying spaceband comprising a movable slotted wedge-shaped member presenting two marginal bars extending in the direction of its movement and an intermediate centrally located bar extending in the same direction, and a relatively stationary cooperating wedge-shaped member having guides arranged in the slots of said movable member and slidably connected solely with its intermediate centrally located bar, the length of said guides being considerably greater than the width of the connected bar so as to provide a relatively long and narrow bearing between said parts.

10. A justifying spaceband comprising a movable slotted wedge-shaped member presenting a plurality of bars extending in the its direction of its movement, and a relatively stationary cooperating Wedge-shaped me1nber formed with guides slldabiy connected to 4 a single one of the longitudinal bars of said movable member, the length of said guides being considerably greater than the Width of the connected bar so as to provide a reiatively long and narrow bearin between said parts.

11. An integral movable wedge-shaped "ustif i110 member havin a 3lura1it of1on-- J c; b y

gitudinal slots out therethrough and presenting three or more bars extending in the direction of its movement, in the manner and for the purpose describedv In testimony'wiie'reof, I have aflixed my signature hereto.

JAMES 

